Northwestern Area Research Articles

Pollution, human health risk assessment and spatial distribution of toxic metals in urban soil of Yazd City, Iran

Heavy metal pollution significantly reduces the quality of the environment and threatens human health, especially in industrial cities. This study investigated toxic metals concentrations, pollution levels and human health risks assessment of urban soils in Yazd City, as an industrial city in center of Iran. Soil surface samples (0-10cm) were collected from 30 points in the area for geochemical analysis. The concentrations of heavy metals were determined using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The values of the mean concentrations of toxic metals (mg kg-1) in the urban soils decrease in the order of Zn (83.9) > Pb (34.5) > Cr (32.6) > Cu (23.5) > Ni (23.4) > As (5.86) > Co (4.86) > Cd (0.27). The mean concentration of Zn, Pb, As and Cd elements was higher than the background and the crust values. A pollution assessment by Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo), Pollution Index (PI), Contamination Degree (CD), the Integrated Pollution Index (IPI), the Pollution Load Index (PLI) and Integrated Nemerow Pollution Index (INPI) showed that As, Cd and Pb were moderately enriched and the study area polluted considerably by these toxic metals. Based on PI results, 88.9% of the urban soil samples highly polluted by As. Overall, the quality of the urban soil in Yazd City is clearly affected by toxic metals. Due to the prevailing wind direction, the route of the north-south highway of Iran and the population density and traffic of the northwestern and southern areas of the study area were found the highest level of pollution indicators (IPI > 1.8; LPI > 1.3; CD > 15 and INPI > 4.3). The results of Pearson correlation analysis indicated that all pollution evaluation indicators were influenced by As and Cu, and showed high significant correlation with these two elements, while neither of them had a significant relationship with Pb and was found also a weak link statistically with Cd. Health risk assessment of toxic metals has been performed in both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic sectors. The results indicate that oral intake is the main pathway that toxic metals can harm human health for both the child and adults. The carcinogenic risks (RI) of adults and child by toxic metals were as follows: Ni > Pb > Cr > As > Cd. Hazard quotients (HQ) and hazard index (HI) values for child also were higher than these for adults. Generally, the results demonstrated that the potential carcinogenic health risks for adults of toxic metals were in an acceptable range in study area, whereas for Cr, Ni and Pb with RI > 10-4, the risk of cancer in child probably increases.

Spatial Characteristics of Groundwater Chemistry in Unzen, Nagasaki, Japan

Nitrate pollution in groundwater is a serious problem in Shimabara Peninsula, Nagasaki, Japan. A better understanding of the hydrogeochemical evolution of groundwater in vulnerable aquifers is important for health and environment. In this study, groundwater samples were collected at 12 residential and 57 municipal water supply wells and springs in July and August 2018. Nitrate (NO3−N) concentration at eight sampling sites (12%) exceeded Japanese drinking water standard for NO3 + NO2−N (10 mg L−1). The highest nitrate concentration was 19.9 mg L−1. Polluted groundwater is distributed in northeastern, northwestern, and southwestern areas, where land is used for intensive agriculture. Correlation analysis suggests that nitrate sources are agricultural fertilizers and livestock waste. Dominant groundwater chemistry is (Ca+Mg)−HCO3 or (Ca+Mg)−(SO4+NO3) type. Groundwater with higher nitrate concentration is of (Ca+Mg)−(SO4+NO3) type, indicating nitrate pollution affecting water chemistry. Principal component analysis extracted two important factors controlling water chemistry. The first principal component explained dissolved ions through water–rock interaction and agricultural activities. The second principal component explained cation exchange and dominant agricultural effects from fertilizers. Hierarchical cluster analysis classified groundwater into four groups. One of these is related to the dissolution of major ions. The other three represent nitrate pollution.

Implications of climate change for the distribution of the water opossum (Chironectes minimus): habitat loss and conservation opportunities

Climate change is expected to impact the geographic distribution of marsupial species in the near future and this impact is likely to be accentuated for the more specialist species. The water opossum (Chironectes minimus) is the only semiaquatic marsupial in the world and is considered naturally rare throughout its geographical range. In the present study, we use ecological niche modeling (ENM) to predict the potential impacts of climate change on the geographic distribution of water opossum throughout Neotropical Region at the end of twenty-first century. We assess the vulnerability of this species by calculating its biotic velocity and identifying potential areas for the conservation of the water opossum based on the changes in climatically stable areas over time. These areas were also compared with the availability of remnant forest in the future. The area of potential distribution of the water opossum is projected to decrease 22% in the future. Water opossum populations will be more vulnerable to climate change in central Brazil, toward the southern extreme, and in some regions of the Amazon biome. In the future, C. minimus may be unable to colonize some areas in southern South America and in Mexico. Climatically stable areas are found in Central America, northwestern and coastal areas in northern South America, and southeastern Brazil, however, most of these areas will not have remnant forest in the future. Climatically stable areas with remnant forest areas are an opportunity for the development of effective long-term conservation measures for C. minimus.

Shifts in the thermal niche of fruit trees under climate change: The case of peach cultivation in France

Climate influences plant phenological traits, thus playing a key role in defining the geographical range of crops. Foreseeing the impact of climate change on fruit trees is essential to inform policy decisions to guide the adaptation to new climatic conditions. To this end, we propose and use a phenological process-based model to assess the impacts of climate change upon the phenology, the suitability and the distribution of economically important cultivars of peach (Prunus persica), across the entire continental France. The model combines temperature dependent sub-models of dormancy, blooming, fruit survival and ripening, using chilling units, forcing units, frost occurrence and growing degree days, respectively. We find that climate change could have divergent impacts on peach production. On the one hand, blooming would occur earlier, warmer temperatures would decrease spring frost occurrence and fruit ripening would be easily achieved before the start of fall. On the other hand, milder winters would impede the plant buds from breaking endodormancy, with consequent abnormal patterns of fruit development or even blooming failure. This latter impact would dramatically shift the geographic range of sites where peach production will be profitable. This shift would mainly be from the south of France (Languedoc-Roussillon, Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), to northwestern areas where the winter chilling requirement would still be fulfilled. Our study provides novel insights for understanding and forecasting climate change impacts on peach phenology and it is the first framework that maps the ecological thermal niche of peach at a national level.

New hybrid-based approach for improving the accuracy of coastal aquifer vulnerability assessment maps

Due to excessive exploitation, groundwater resources of coastal regions are exposed to seawater intrusion. Therefore, vulnerability assessments are essential for the quantitative and qualitative management of these resources. The GALDIT model is the most widely used approach for coastal aquifer vulnerability assessment, but suffers from subjectivity of the identification of rates and weights. This study aimes at developing a new hybrid framework for improving the accuracy of coastal aquifer vulnerability assessment using various statistical, metaheuristic, and Multi-Attribute Decision Making (MADM) methods to improve the GALDIT model. The Gharesoo-Gorgan Rood coastal aquifer in northern Iran is used as study site. In order to meet this aim, the Differential Evolution (DE) and Biogeography-Based Optimization (BBO) metaheuristic algorithms were employed to optimize the GALDIT weights. In addition, a novel MADM method, named Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA), and the bivariate statistical method called statistical index (SI) were used to modify the GALDIT ratings. Finally, correlation coefficients between the maps obtained from each method and Total Dissolved Solid (TDS) as an indicator of seawater intrusion were computed to evaluate the models' prediction power. Correlation coefficients of 0.72, 0.75, 0.76 and 0.78 were obtained for the GALDITSWARA-BBO, GALDITSI-BBO, GALDITSWARA-DE and GALDITSI-DE models, respectively. The results from the GALDITSI-DE model outperformed all other models at improving the accuracy of the vulnerability assessment. Moreover, the statistical-metaheuristic method yielded more accurate results than SWARA-metaheuristic hybrid models. The vulnerability map of the studied region indicates that the northwestern and western areas are very highly vulnerable. According to GALDITSI-DE model, 42%, 17%, 18% and 22% of the aquifer areas respectively have a low, medium, high and very high vulnerability to seawater intrusion. The research findings could be applied by regional authorities to manage and protect groundwater resources.

Human health risk visualization of potentially toxic elements in farmland soil: A combined method of source and probability

Human health is adversely affected by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the topsoil, entering the bodies via inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact. To visualize human health risks, we investigated five PTEs (Cd, As, Pb, Hg, and Cr) in 72 farmland topsoil samples from a town in Chongqing City, southwest China. Based on the human health risk assessment model, sequential indicator simulation (SIS) and the positive matrix factorization model (PMF) were used to construct the spatial health risks and to analyze the sources of PTEs; finally, health risks were combined with the source by ArcGIS. Based on our results, the use of SIS is feasible for the prediction of the spatial distribution of PTEs. Among the risks, the non-cancer risk of As for children most likely exceeded the accepted level in some areas, making As a priority pollutant. Although the health risks of soil Cd were acceptable in the region, the spatial probability distribution of Cd> 0.3 mg/kg represents a threat as Cd enters the human food chain. Even if the industrial discharge was the lowest individual contributor (29.33%), due to the impact of industrial discharge, the total non-cancer risk with a high probability (>0.85) for children still exceeded the accepted level in the northwestern area, which should be regarded as the priority pollution source. The combined method was useful to reduce efforts in environmental management, thus providing a basis for soil remediation and pollution source control.

Spatio-temporal and synoptic changes in dust at the three islands in the Persian Gulf region

The occurrence of severe and inclusive dust storms has caused a lot of damage every year in the Persian Gulf region and it has destructive environmental effects in this area. The aim of this study is to investigate the monthly changes in the frequency of dust storms over Khark, Kish and Qeshm islands located in the Persian Gulf region during the 10-year period (2007–2017) using satellite and model observations. The results show that the highest dust frequency was observed over Qeshm Island followed by Kish and Khark Islands. The highest number of dusty days was reported in all three stations in 2008 and most of the dust events occurred in May and July as compared to other months. The average wind speed in these two months (May and July) shows that the wind directions are mostly from northern and northwestern areas. The dust AOD evaluation of eight dust prediction models shows that the models simulated AOD patterns vary differently from each other for a severe dust storm on July 14, 2014 in the study area. Among the eight models, DREAM8-MACC model has a better performance and has good agreement with satellite observations. The analysis showed a high correlation (R = 0.74) between AERONET and DREAM8-MACC model AOD at the observation sites.

Epidemiological characteristics of human rabies in China, 2016-2018

Objective: To analyze epidemiological characteristics and explore control and prevention measures based on the rabies surveillance data in China from 2016 to 2018. Methods: The surveillance data of rabies in China from 2016-2018 were collected from the "Infectious Disease Surveillance Information Reporting Management System", eleven national surveillance sites in Hunan, Anhui, Guizhou, Jiangsu and Shandong provinces and National Bureau of Statistics. Descriptive epidemiological method was used to analyze the distributions of rabies outbreaks in China during this period, and univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted on the data using SPSS 25.0. Results: Rabies epidemics were mainly found in southern and central areas in China. Rabies mainly occurred in summer and autumn, and the majority of patients were farmers, students and children outside child care settings. The male to female ratio of the cases was 2.38∶1(1 114∶468). The cases were reported in all age groups and the incidence curve was bimodal, and more cases occurred in middle aged and old adults than in youths. In the case analysis of rabies from 2016 to 2018, the majority of the animals biting human were dogs, accounting for 91.46%(439/480). And about 71.88% (345/480) of the exposures were degree Ⅲ. The vaccination rate after exposure was only 8.13%(39/480). Age, degree of exposure, site of exposure, wound management, vaccination and injection of passive immunization product might influence the incubation period. Conclusions: The human rabies incidence in China declined consecutively from 2016 to 2018, and the affected areas decreased. No cases were reported in northwestern area. The rate of post exposure prophylaxis, vaccination and passive immunization product injection were all improved, but the level of standard wound management after exposure needs to be improved. Attention should be paid to epidemic surveillance in high-incidence provinces and neighboring provinces. It is necessary to strengthen professional treatment training in relevant medical institutions, strengthen immunization and management of dog to achieve the goal of "zero human rabies death by 2030".

Monitoring drought events and vegetation dynamics in relation to climate change over mainland China from 1983 to 2016.

Due to the present drought events and dynamics of vegetation, the circumstances in mainland China could become even more serious. Therefore, we study the impact of drought on vegetation trends in mainland China, with the aim of discovering the temporal and spatial differences in vegetation dynamics caused by seasonal drought. Our method is based on the use of data from the AVHRR Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from 1983 to 2016 and temperature and precipitation data from Modern Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (NASA's MERRA). Due to the sparse vegetation and low drought, NDVI is the most useful for describing drought conditions in mainland China. The NDVI, TCI, VHI, NVSWI, VCI, TVDI, and NAP from April to October increased rapidly, while the NDVI, TCI, VHI, NVSWI, NAP, TVDI, and VCI are stable every month in September, improve again in October, and then show in December a downward trend. The NDVI, TCI, VHI, NVSWI, NAP, TVDI, and VCI monthly values indicate that mainland China suffered from severe drought in 1984 and 1993, which lasted until 2007, which were the most drought years. For monitoring drought in mainland China, the NDVI, TVDI, NAP, VCI, and NVSWI values were selected as a tool for reporting drought events during different growing seasons. The seasonal values of TVDI, NDVI, NAP, NVSWI, and VCI confirmed that mainland China suffered from severe drought in 1984, 1993, and 2007 and led the durations of severe drought. Spatial correlation is generated between NDVI, TCI, VHI, NVSWI, NAP, TVDI, and VCI. The correlation between NDVI, TCI, VHI, NAP, and VCI showed a significantly positive correlation while significantly negative correlation between NVSWI and TVDI, TVDI and VHI, which showed a good indication for the assessment of drought, especially for the agricultural regions of mainland China. This shows that the positive sign to support NAP, NVSWI, and TVDI is a good monitoring of the drought indices. During the summer, it appears that compared to the southeastern part of mainland China, drought is more likely to occur in the northwestern areas. There is no doubt that these drought indices are comprehensive indicators of monitoring drought events in mainland China.

Integrated geospatial analysis linking metal contamination among three different compartments of Lake Edku ecosystem in Egypt to human health effects.

This study is the first in forming an integrated up-to-date spatial analysis linking heavy metal contamination among three different compartments of Lake Edku ecosystem to human health effects. The study determined the concentrations of iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), and cadmium (Cd) in sediment and water samples collected from 12 stations covering the entire lake, as well as in the liver and muscle tissues of the three commercially edible fish species (African sharptooth catfish (Clarias gariepinus), Blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus), and Redbelly tilapia (Tilapia zillii)), during winter 2019. Cartographic maps investigating the spatial contamination pattern of each metal in sediment and water samples along the entire lake, as well as correlation analysis between metal pairs, were generated. Moreover, the study examined the affinity of metal transfer among the three compartments and assessed the probability of being exposed to non-carcinogenic health hazards from the consumption of the abovementioned species. Results revealed that Fe and Cd recorded the highest and lowest mean concentrations, respectively, in sediment, water, and fish samples. The mean concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Ni in the water of Lake Edku, as well as the mean concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Cr in muscle tissues of the three examined fish species, exceeded the permissible limits. The northwestern part of the lake exhibited the highest concentrations of Fe, Ni, and Cr in Lake Edku's sediment with strong significant positive correlations recorded between Fe-Ni, Fe-Cr, and Ni-Cr pairs suggesting sharing the same contamination source. Concerning Lake Edku's water, the northwestern area displayed the highest concentrations for all metals. Moreover, Cd, Pb, and Cr exhibited nearly the same spatial contamination pattern with the hotspot located in the western part of the lake. Strong significant positive correlations were found between Cd-Pb, Cd-Cr, and Pb-Cr pairs in surface water, suggesting sharing the same origin of dispersion. The three fish species accumulated heavy metals from water several folds higher than from sediments, indicating that water is the main source of the intensive transfer of heavy metals to the three fish species. Based on the consumption of the three investigated fish species, children recorded the highest estimated daily (EDI) and weekly intakes (EWI) of heavy metals followed by adults. Regardless Pb, EWI values indicated that there are no significant health risks through fish consumption from the examined metals recommending that children should consume less than 85.227 g/day African sharptooth catfish muscle, 108.696 g/day Blue tilapia muscle, and 97.403 g/day Redbelly tilapia muscle to assure their health. Moreover, adults should consume less than 397.727 g/day African sharptooth catfish muscle, 507.24 g/day Blue tilapia muscle, and 454.54 g/day Redbelly tilapia muscle. The estimated hazard quotient (HQ) of all metals was lower than or close to the safe values of one for children and adults in the three investigated fish species indicating the absence of potential non-carcinogenic threats. The hazard index (HI) estimated for the five examined heavy metals in each of the investigated fish species was below one in adults only. Regarding the total hazard index estimated from consuming the three fish species, both children and adults may be subjected to non-carcinogenic risk.

Mineralogical and geochemical characterisation of kaolin deposit from Debre Tabor area northwestern, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT Debre Tabor kaolin deposit is located around Debre Tabor town in Amhara region of northwestern Ethiopia. The kaolin deposit in the study area needs a detailed study to evaluate the geological, mineralogical, physical, and geochemical conditions. For this purpose, detailed geological, physical, mineralogical, and geochemical laboratory tests were performed. XRD and petrographic analysis were used to study the mineralogical composition. Geochemical analysis was determined using ICP-MS and ICP-AES. The Debre Tabor kaolin deposit is exposed along riverbanks, road cuts, hillside, and quarry sites. The laboratory results reveal that the deposit is formed from the weathering of felsic rocks mainly trachyte and tuff units. From the laboratory analysis, we found that quartz is the dominant impurities. The geological, mineralogical, and geochemical studies indicate that in situ weathering followed by leaching played a major role in the formation of the Debre Tabor kaolin deposit. The average Chemical Index of Alteration (77.98%) shows that the host rock has experienced moderate weathering and alteration under the hot and humid climatic conditions of the subtropical zone. The low bulk density (1.54 g cm−3) and Ce + Y + La vs. Ba + Sr plot correspond to the supergene type of formation. Based on the mineralogical, geochemical, and physical properties, Debre Tabor kaolin deposit can be used for refractory, ceramics, paper coating, and filler (paint) industries, but treatment is important to remove the existing impurities such as iron, quartz, and feldspars.

New Data on Two Subspecies of Mesobuthus eupeus, the Most Medically Important Scorpion Species in Northwestern Iran.

Scorpions are among the most medically important arthropods in Iran, particularly northwestern areas. To date, five scorpion species, i.e. Mesobuthus eupeus, Mesobuthus caucasicus, Androctonus crassicauda, Hottentotta saulcyi, and scorpio maurus, have been identified. The family Buthidae is responsible for most cases of scorpionism in Iran. The Mesobuthus eupeus species belong to this family and is commonly distributed from Turkey to China, including Iran. Among these species, Mesobuthus eupeus is regarded as the most medically important species and responsible for most cases of envenomation in this area. Morphological differences between some species collected in the study area have been reported. The present study, thus, aimed to identify the subspecies of Mesobuthus eupeus in northwestern Iran. Scorpions were captured in the summer months from 37 localities in three northwestern provinces in Iran: West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan, and Ardabil. Scorpion collection was carried out using rock rolling and ultraviolet methods. A total of 376 specimens of Mesobutus eupeus (177males and 199 females) were collected and identified as Mesobuthus eupeus (98.4%) and Mesobuthus eupeus philippovitschi (1.6%). Owing to the findings of our study, M.e.philippovitschi has been added to the scorpion fauna of northwestern parts of Iran for the first time. Unlike M.e. eupeus which is widely distributed from plains to mountainous regions, M.e.philippovitschi has limited distribution and is found mostly along the borders with neighboring countries. This subspecies is the most medically important and most prevalent one in the region. The findings of the present study also provide the basis for future consideration of regional antivenom production for this medically important species.

Дилеммы этноидентификации и общественно- политического представительства русинов в Словацкой Республике и на Украине (по результатам экспертного опроса)

The article highlights the problem of ethnic identification and socio-political representation of Rusins in Slovakia and Ukraine. The author bases his presentation on the results of an survey among Slovak and Ukrainian experts. The object of research is the Rusin ethnic group of northwestern area in Slovakia (Prešov and Kosice self-governing regions) and Transcarpathian region of Ukraine. According to the survey among Slovak experts, 44% consider Rusins “a separate ethnic group, different from Ukrainians”; the same number of respondents defines Rusins “a sub-ethnic (ethnographic) group of Ukrainians”; 12 % cannot decide on this issue. Most of the respondents in Ukraine (44 %) define Rusins “a sub-ethnic (ethnographic) group of Ukrainian people”; 28 % are convinced that Rusins are representatives of a separate ethnic group, different from Ukrainians; 28 % stated their own options regarding the nature of ethnic identification of Rusins. The vast majority of Slovak experts (52 %) define “rather active” public and political participation of Rusins; 16 % state “active” participation; 16 % define it “rather passive”; 8% – “passive”, 8% were undecided about the answer. The Ukrainian respondent opinions were divided as follows: 48 % consider the public and political participation of Rusins “rather passive”; 28 % – “passive”; 16 % – “rather active”; 4% indicated the “active” role of Rusin national cultural associations with the remark that only older generations are involved; 4 % public and political participation of Rusins was defined as ”ineffective”. Slovak experts emphasized the active work of public and political leaders of Rusin origin Peter Krajnak, Miroslav Lajcak and Peter Medvid’. The respondents from Ukraine named Rusin leaders Yevhen Zhupan and Yuriy Prodan in Transcarpathian regional public and political environment.

Zircon U–Pb age constraints on the provenance of Upper Oligocene to Upper Miocene sandstones in the western Qiongdongnan Basin, South China sea

The provenance of Upper Oligocene to Upper Miocene sandstones in the western Qiongdongnan Basin was studied by zircon U–Pb ages. More than 200 zircon grains were separated from the sandstone of the Upper Oligocene Lingshui, Lower Miocene Sanya, and Upper Miocene Huangliu formations, and spot analysed for U–Pb dating. Most zircon grains from the Upper Oligocene Lingshui and Upper Miocene Huangliu formations had rounded corners, suggesting that the grains were transported a relatively long distance before deposition, while grains from the Lower Miocene Sanya Formation were usually angular in shape, implying a shorter transport distance from their provenance. The Lingshui Formation contained exclusively Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Palaeozoic, and Proterozoic zircon ages, and the age spectrum showed two major peaks at ca. 247 and 441 Ma, along with nine subordinate age peaks at ca. 35, 305, 517, 623, 811, 852, 911, 1158, and 1905 Ma. This indicates that Upper Oligocene sediments in the northwestern area of the Qiongdongnan Basin may have originated from the Red River system, which had four major peaks at 254, 418, 751, and 1848 Ma, and five subordinate peaks at ca. 32, 81, 514, 606, and 967 Ma. Results suggest that sediments from the Red River system entered the Qiongdongnan Basin as early as the Late Oligocene. The zircon age spectrum of the Sanya Formation had two major peaks at 99 and 237 Ma, indicating that Lower Miocene sandstones in the northwestern area of the Qiongdongnan Basin were mainly from Hainan Island, with ages ranging from 110 to 90 to 280–220 Ma. This study infers that the sandstones may be the paleo-Red River capture by the Yangze River, which resulted in a large decrease of sediment supply from the paleo-Red River system, such that the sediments of the paleo-Red River did not develop in the western area of the Qiongdongnan Basin during the Early Miocene. Results indicate that if the Red River capture existed, it would have predated the Early Miocene. The zircon age spectrum from Upper Miocene sediments of the western Qiongdongnan Basin showed five major age peaks at ca. 27, 88, 256, 415, and 785 Ma, indicating that its provenance was the Red River system. The Late Miocene provenance change from Hainan Island to the Red River may have been in response to a major phase of the Tibetan Plateau uplift.

Administrativno–pravno uređenje rudarskog distrikta sjeverozapadne Bosne u III stoljeću / The administrative and legal regulation of the mining district of northwestern Bosnia in the 3rd century

Research of the Ancient mining, throughout the Roman Empire, indicates that the evolutionary development of local, metallurgical, and mining plants is directly related to changes of the imperial administration. During the second century, the mines belonged to the state that leased them to a private mine lessee, conductor. As the same conductor appears in the northwestern areas of Bosnia and Mursa, Noricum, as a leaseholder of Pannonian iron mines, we can assume that this mining area was the administrative property of the province of Pannonia. There are fifteen epigraphic monuments from the third century, which provide a basis for understanding the administrative-legal arrangement of the mining district of north-west Bosnia. Almost all monuments have been erected in honor of Oriental deities, with the exception of two monuments referred to Sedatus, a Pannonian deity. The most represented deity is Terra Mater, whose dedications make half of the total number of these epigraphic sources. Terra Mater, or Mother Earth, basically is not a mining deity, but in this context, its interpretation as such is not a mistake. The aforementioned monuments have been erected by an administrative-legal apparatus operating in this district, in the form of a fiduciary (procurator Augusti), a bailiff (vilicus), or an association of collegium and corpus. Although the administrative apparatus was much more layered and had a functional hierarchical system, these are the only titles and functions that occur in the Northwestern Mining District, within their variations. The strength of administrative power, in the said territory, was best manifested in the third century, but there is numismatic evidence for the mining process in the first century.

Europe in Asia and Asia in Europe: Socio-Cultural Perceptions of the Inhabitants of Russia of the North-Western Caspian Sea area in the XIX – early XX centuries

The article focuses on socio-cultural perceptions of the north-western Caspian Sea area that were formed by people of Russia in the XIX and early XX century. It puts together the information from the Russian citizens who were travelling across Astrakhan province which at the time included the area in question. The study points out several most typical features that enable us to determine the way people living in Russia in the XIX and early XX century generally perceived the region in the socio-cultural sense. In the eyes of the contemporaries, Astrakhan province was, first of all, an under-populated, remote provincial part of the country which at the same time was seen as a border territory in a political and geographical sense – a certain kind of a bridge between Europe and Asia. The distinctive characteristic of the province was its multinational and multi-religious population, a great number of which were people of Asian origin. Different ethnic groups actively interacted and influenced each other, however, never mixed. The contemporaries also pointed out the peaceful coexistence of different religious groups, the relationships among which were built on the principle of non-interference and religious tolerance. The materials for the article are taken from the published sources.

A novel hybrid quantum-PSO and credal decision tree ensemble for tropical cyclone induced flash flood susceptibility mapping with geospatial data

Flash flood is considered as one of the most destructive natural hazards worldwide, especially in tropical countries, where tropical cyclones with torrential rains are recurrent problems yearly. Therefore, an accurate prediction of susceptible areas to flash floods is crucial for developing measures to prevent, avoid, and minimize damages associated with flash floods. The aim of this research is to propose a new state-of-the-art model based on hybridizing Quantum Particle Swarm Optimization (QPSO) and the Credal Decision Tree (CDT) ensemble, namely the QPSO-CDTreeEns model, for spatial prediction of the flash flood. The concept of the proposed model is to build a forest tree of the CDT established through the Random Subspace ensemble. Therein, QPSO is integrated to optimize the three parameters, the subspace size, number of trees, and the maximum depth of trees. A district suffered from a high frequency of flash floods in the north-western mountainous area of Vietnam was selected as a case study. In this regard, a geospatial database that includes a total of 1698 flash flood and inundation polygons derived from Sentinel-1 C-band SAR images and ten input indicators were used to construct and to verify the proposed model. The result shows that the QPSO-CDT-Ens model performed well (Overall accuracy = 90.4, Kappa coefficient = 0.807) and outperformed the five machine learning algorithms in flash flood susceptibility mapping. Among the ten factors, the land-use/land-cover (LULC), the slope, the curvature, and the TWI are the most important indicators. We conclude that the proposed model is a promising tool for flash flood susceptibility mapping in the tropics and may assist decision-makers in sustainable land-use planning in the national disaster mitigation strategies.

The German modal particle wohl between epistemics and evidentiality – An interactional and regional perspective

In this paper, we apply a mixed-methods approach on epistemics and evidence in interaction to the investigation of the unstressed German modal particle wohl and its different functions as a linguistic resource for displaying knowledge in interaction. In addition, the paper takes a regional perspective based on the observation that speakers from the Northwest German area use wohl differently in constructing knowledge stances than speakers of other German varieties. Methodologically, we follow a combined approach of conversation analysis and multivariate statistical analyses of German Face-to-Face interactions. In contrast to traditional classifications of wohl displaying an assumptive [K–] stance, the results of the sequential analyses in the paper reveal that the modal particle is used to display all functions of the epistemic gradient from a [K–] to a [K+] stance. Moreover, the quantitative analysis shows that there is a regional effect, as primarily Northwestern German speakers use the epistemic [K+] function of wohl in interactions. We discuss the results with regard to the role that interaction analysis and regionality should play in investigating modal particles. Finally, we link our findings to the historical and contact induced factors that especially determine the divergent usage of wohl in the Northwestern area.

Enhancement of the polynomial functions response surface model for real-time analyzing ozone sensitivity

Quantification of the nonlinearities between ambient ozone (O3) and the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compound (VOC) is a prerequisite for an effective O3 control strategy. An Enhanced polynomial functions Response Surface Model (Epf-RSM) with the capability to analyze O3-NOx-VOC sensitivities in real time was developed by integrating the hill-climbing adaptive method into the optimized Extended Response Surface Model (ERSM) system. The Epf-RSM could single out the best suited polynomial function for each grid cell to quantify the responses of O3 concentrations to precursor emission changes. Several comparisons between Epf-RSM and pf-ERSM (polynomial functions based ERSM) were performed using out-of-sample validation, together with comparisons of the spatial distribution and the Empirical Kinetic Modeling Approach diagrams. The comparison results showed that Epf-RSM effectively addressed the drawbacks of pf-ERSM with respect to over-fitting in the margin areas and high biases in the transition areas. The O3 concentrations predicted by Epf-RSM agreed well with Community Multi-scale Air Quality simulation results. The case study results in the Pearl River Delta and the north-western area of the Shandong province indicated that the O3 formations in the central areas of both the regions were more sensitive to anthropogenic VOC in January, April, and October, while more NOx-sensitive in July.

Agriculture and animal husbandry increased carbon footprint on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during past three decades

Agriculture and animal husbandry are important sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and contribute to climate change, but the carbon sink function of cropland and grassland plays an important role in mitigating climate changes. Based on ecological footprint methodology, this study comprehensively considered carbon emission and carbon sequestration in order to calculate the carbon footprints from agriculture and animal husbandry, and analyzed spatiotemporal distribution of carbon emission, carbon sequestration, and carbon footprint on the QTP. The results showed that during the period of 1990–2015, the carbon emissions of agriculture and animal husbandry on the QTP increased by 163% and 41%, respectively. Agricultural carbon sequestration showed an increasing trend with a growth rate of 45%, and animal husbandry carbon sequestration showed that it increased by 40% in the period of 1990–2005 and then decreased by 28% in the period of 2005–2015. The carbon footprint of agriculture reduced by 23% from 1990 to 1995, then grew by 112% from 1995 to 2015, and the animal husbandry carbon footprint reduced by 18% from 1990 to 2005 then grew by 71% from 2005 to 2015; both of these phenomena showed the downward trends first before trending upward. The high carbon emission and sequestration regions of agriculture were mainly distributed in the southeastern and northwestern areas of the QTP, and the high carbon footprint regions of agriculture were centered in the southeastern and northeastern areas. The high carbon emission regions of animal husbandry were located in southeastern areas, while the high carbon sequestration regions were in the southeastern, southwestern and middle areas. Additionally, the high carbon footprint regions were in southwestern areas. All measures mentioned showed a significant variation in spatial distribution. The economic and population growth contributed to the increase in carbon footprint despite technological advances. This study propose options to reduce the carbon emission and suggestions to improve carbon sink function. This study provides an important basis for policy formulation and planning for sustainable agriculture on the QTP.